I Was Just Having Fun With The Time Limit - Chapter 131

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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I first calmed Michael down.
“Brother, if you run over like that, you’ll startle the horses.”
Michael looked somewhat aggrieved for some reason.
It seemed he had much he wanted to say to me, but he still apologized to the horses.
“I’m sorry, friends.”
I had no idea how he managed it, but the horses nodded their heads as if they understood Michael’s words, nickering softly.
‘This works again….’
Now that I thought about it, Michael was also the first person to have that strange rapport(?) with Bumblebee.
Michael grumbled at me.
“Why did you go out without me?”
“I didn’t go out to play.”
“Then what?”
“I went to meet someone important.”
“How important could they be?”
She had the same face as me, and she was the female lead of “The Doomed Villainess Dies,” so she must be incredibly important, right?
“She was extremely important.”
“Really?”
At my feeble excuse, Michael broke into a wide smile.
“I see.”
Michael recovered his vitality so quickly that it became embarrassing that he had felt slighted.
Or rather, was his vitality already overflowing? Hmm.
In any case, Michael, who had felt a moment of disappointment, seemed to have nothing on his mind today either.
“You came?”
“I didn’t know Kaman would come to greet me.”
….
Kaman said nothing in particular.
Perhaps because of his nature to speak only when absolutely necessary, he seemed to have grown even more taciturn these past few days.
Michael went “pffft!” and covered his mouth with his hand. Then he pointed at himself with his index finger,
“I’m the younger brother.”
Then he pointed at Kaman.
“He’s the older brother.”
He pointed at himself again.
“I’m the younger brother.”
He pointed at Kaman again.
“He’s the older brother.”
….
Judging by his behavior, he was truly childish.
I had no idea when he would mature.
“May I introduce myself now?”
I was startled.
I glanced around, but there was no one at the source of the voice.
‘Huh?’
Now that I thought about it, I remembered seeing two men through the sandstorm that had been raging moments ago.
One was Kaman, and there was another one… or was there?
‘What is this?’
Just then, something black shot up with a whoosh from within Michael’s shadow.
It was like a ghost.
“Ahhh!”
I nearly stumbled backward in shock, but Viscount Biatonn caught me.
“Second Prince. If you make your entrance like that, the Princess will be startled. Please be more careful with your appearances next time.”
The person who had sprung from Michael’s shadow was none other than Second Prince Sermon.
It was my first time seeing him since the Selection Ceremony.
I recalled the conversation Michael and Sermon had been having during the Selection Ceremony.
‘Brother, am I not cuter?’
‘Don’t be jealous of cuteness.’
‘But I’m definitely cuter.’
‘No. Isabel is cuter. I’m certain.’
Remembering that, it seemed Sermon might actually find me quite cute?
I steadied myself and thanked Viscount Biatonn before standing up straight.
But suddenly, wind swept through.
Whoosh!
My hair fluttered in the breeze.
‘What just passed by?’
It felt like something extremely sharp and keen had gone past me.
Clang!
The sound of blade meeting blade rang out.
I couldn’t quite comprehend what had just happened.
Viscount Biatonn spoke.
“You’ve grown even sharper in the meantime.”
There was a thin wound on Viscount Biatonn’s cheek.
“Teacher! Your cheek is bleeding.”
“It simply means the Second Prince’s skills have improved considerably.”
Viscount Biatonn used recovery magic without concern, healing his cheek.
The wound closed instantly.
I’m not sure when he appeared, but Sermon was now standing beside Michael.
Sermon spoke in a remarkably affectionate tone.
“Unfortunate. I almost pierced your throat.”
“You still have much to learn, Your Highness.”
“Next time, I’ll make sure to pierce your throat.”
“I shall be waiting for it.”
The way she delivered such a brutal conversation with such a warm expression created a dissonance that was no joke.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
I blinked my eyes repeatedly, unable to comprehend the situation.
It seemed I was the only one who didn’t understand what was happening here.
‘What on earth… is going on?’
* * *
After the commotion had settled, Isabel collapsed onto a bed in the barracks of the Zirdel Base Camp.
Biatone patted Isabel’s shoulder gently.
“You must be quite exhausted.”
“Yes, incredibly so. Who exactly is Brother Sermon? I don’t think I’ve ever heard stories about him at the Imperial Palace. It feels like everyone is being secretive about him.”
I had asked several people about Sermon, but never received a satisfactory answer.
It was the same kind of reaction as when a young child asks, “Where do babies come from?”
‘Even in the novel, there was almost no description of Sermon.’
His first appearance was none other than a death scene.
On the day the Vilotian Royal Family fell, Sermon ambushed the male protagonist Arun.
「Arun placed a hand over his startled heart.
“So you’re the Second Prince from the rumors. You truly possess exceptional assassination skills.”」
Even the male protagonist Arun suffered considerable injuries from Sermon’s ambush.
「”He’s far too dangerous to let live.”
“Wasn’t it said that the Second Prince was raised by Duke Bladock’s family?”」
Sermon met his end the moment he made his first appearance.
Biatone spoke with a worried expression.
“Perhaps it’s better not to know, Your Highness.”
“Sometimes there are medicines that must be swallowed rather than spoken.”
It was true that Isabel had been relatively indifferent to the blood relatives she hadn’t encountered within the Imperial Palace.
Because she poured all her devotion into the people before her, the people she could see with her own eyes.
When the time came, she would meet them eventually.
When that time arrived, she would do her best.
I lived today with such vague thoughts.
Because the ‘today’ given to me was significantly shorter than others’.
And today I met the Second Prince.
Now it was time to pour all my devotion into the Second Prince.
“I’m prepared to swallow that medicine.”
Biatone pursed his lips and deliberated for quite some time.
Then, as if he had made a firm decision, he opened his mouth.
“Prince Sermon was raised by Duke Bladock’s family.”
“Without going through the Arena Palace?”
“Yes. He was raised by Duke Bladock’s family from birth.”
The name of Duke Bladock’s family, one of the Empire’s two great ducal houses, had emerged.
Duke Bladock’s family was a house shrouded in mystery.
All that was known was that it was located somewhere at the western edge.
“Why?”
“Sermon’s fate was determined from the moment of his birth.”
“What fate was determined?”
“He was destined to be raised as a Shadow.”
The Bladoc Duchy.
For generations, they had shouldered the Empire’s darkest affairs.
When great threats descended upon the Imperial Family, or when enemies needed to be eliminated, or when the Imperial Family’s secrets required concealment—those who moved in the shadows were the ones who acted.
And the commander who controlled these shadows was known as the “First Shadow.”
Sermon was currently being selected and trained as that very “First Shadow.”
Rather than inheriting the throne, he was being raised as the protector of the Imperial Family.
“Throughout history, the Imperial Family has had at least one blood relative of each generation raised by the Bladoc Duchy.”
“Mother would never have permitted such a thing.”
“Whether the Empress permits it or not is irrelevant. This is a law that has sustained the Imperial Family itself. The Second Prince was raised as the final bulwark to act when calamity befalls the Imperial House.”
I recalled the moment I had shaken hands with Sermon earlier.
At that time, I had nearly recoiled in shock.
What emanated from Sermon was a pure killing intent directed at Viscount Biatonn.
What was even more terrifying was that this killing intent contained not a shred of malice.
It was similar to the feeling of young children tearing apart an insect’s body without any ill intent.
‘Something is missing? Something is twisted? I don’t know how to describe it. How could anyone be raised to become like that?’
Perhaps he resembled a doll who had never learned to feel emotions.
“That’s… not right, is it?”
“Yet it is also true that the Vilotian Imperial Family has been saved twelve times by them.”
Throughout Villorian’s 500-year history, the “First Shadows” had acted approximately twelve times, saving the Imperial Family from peril.
I, whose senses were so keen that I could instantly see through even Ron’s disguises, had not detected Sermon’s approach or concealment at all.
That alone was the ability of a Shadow.
“Ah, but that doesn’t mean I approve of it.”
“…”
“Furthermore, the Shadows are granted special privileges. They face no punishment for killing anyone—even if that person is the Empire’s Chief Advisor.”
“What if Viscount Biatonn is seriously injured?”
“That would be due to my insufficient ability. And assisting the First Shadow in actual combat is also one of the Chief Advisor’s duties.”
“…I was simply terrified just now.”
Viscount Biatonn brushed back my hair.
With a warm and tender touch, he comforted my heart and showed his understanding.
“What frightened you so?”
“It was such pure killing intent.”
Viscount Biatonn looked at me with concern.
‘It seems the Princess has received quite a shock.’
The existence of the Second Prince was an implicit secret, and no one ever mentioned it first.
From the Imperial Family’s perspective, the “First Shadow” could only ever be a source of pain.
“Your Highness, you’ve traveled such a long distance. Why don’t you rest for a moment? I’ll comfort you.”
That night, Isabel couldn’t sleep, and Biatone never left her side.
* * *
When had I fallen asleep?
I woke after tossing and turning through the dawn hours.
Beside me sat Viscount Biatone, dozing quietly.
And next to him—
“Oh!”
A handsome man with a gentle expression appeared before me.
It was my brother Sermon.
He gazed at me with kindness and affection.
“…What is that on your head? It looks like a flower crown…”
“It is a flower crown.”
It should have looked strange for such a large man to wear a flower crown upon his head, yet it didn’t seem strange at all.
Rather, the image was so beautiful it bordered on the ethereal.
“Why are you wearing a flower crown?”
“I heard you enjoy making these with your badger friend. So I made one myself. What do you think?”
“It suits you wonderfully. Truly.”
“Is that so? I’m relieved.”
The flower crown, woven haphazardly with yellow blossoms, was somewhat crudely crafted.
Yet harmonized with Sermon’s beauty, it became the most exquisite flower crown in the world.
“Making it was rather difficult, though. Would you like to come make one with me? There’s a flower garden nearby.”
“I’m a bit tired right now. Could we make one a little later?”
“Then I’ll kill your friend.”
Sermon smiled with a warm expression.
“Bumblebee!”
Bumblebee was held in Sermon’s left hand.
Without thinking, I grasped Sermon’s left hand.
Through my magic, Sermon’s emotions were conveyed to me.
I could find no malice or hostility within Sermon.
Only affection toward me filled his heart.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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